komada architects office: SLIDE house

‘SLIDE house’ by komada architects office, suginami-ku, tokyo, japan

all images courtesy of komada architects

in the dense tokyo suburbs, takeshi and yuka komada have redesigned the bland, grid-like approach to cooperative housing in favor of a dwelling centered around dynamic movement and active spaces organized by mobility. ‘the SLIDE house’ consists of 9 total units, built around a central courtyard and connected by sharply angled paths of circulation. while the courtyard is split by a green screen, each apartment’s program is linearly assembled and linked by a network of stairs. the effect is that of a stacked series of landings; some extruded and containing domestic spaces and others shortened to emphasize their liminality. this is fundamentally an architecture of human movement, wherein the planar areas of ‘treads’ become spaces of rest and study and the vertical slabs of ‘risers’ become walls and shelving units. four of the apartments open to the elongated courtyard and five units have a private roof balcony, a rare feat in the otherwise congested city fabric. the staggered landings also create optimal conditions for ample amounts of interior light. the slab-like surfaces strike an aesthetic balance between a harmonious addition to the urban context and a welcome change in the geometry of the skyline.